Excavator.



W. BURST.

EXOAVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 8. 1908.

Patented Mar. 2, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITE STATES P FEIQE.

EXGAVATOR.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM HURsT, of the city of Winnipeg, in the Province of Manitoba, Canada, have invented. certain new and useful Improvements in Excavators, of which the following is the specification.

My invention relates to that class of eX- cavating machines in which a vertical weighted drop cutter, blade, or drill, is employed, where sections of earth are successively broken away from the end wall of a trench or ditch.

The objects of the invention are, firstly, to cut a ditch from frozen, hard, or baked earth, of the desired width and depth, by means of a weighted wedge-shaped drill, which can be elevated and free to drop at predetermined instants, secondly, to provide means for elevating and distributing the earth loosened by the drill, and thirdly to rovide means whereby the vertical gui es for the weighted drill may be adjusted vertically, the parts being arranged and constructed as hereinafter more particularly described.

In making the first cut in sewers, cellars, and earth excavations, generally, in colder climates where the earth is frozen, considerable difficulty has been met with, and much time has been lost in removing the surface earth. The frozen earth will vary from about five to eight feet in the colder countries and it is for loosening and removing earth of this class that my invention particularly applies. It may be used also in clay earth where it is dry or baked, but it is unnecessary for me to enumerate here all its applications, as they will be quite obvious after I have described the invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my complete invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view as in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a front elevation as in Fig. 1, the crane having been. turned to one side, and certain of the parts of lesser importance being absent from the drawing to make it appear less complicated. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailed perspective view of the weighted drill and its position in the upright guides. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed perspective view showing the manner in which the axles supporting the guides are secured to the guides.

In the drawings like characters of refer- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 8, 1908.

Patented March 2, 1909.

Serial No. 431,720.

ence indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

1 represents a boiler and 2 an engine, both of ordinary construction, which are mounted upon a portable frame or trucks 3, the wheels 4 4 of which run upon longitudinal tracks 5, laid along on the sides of the trench or ditch to be excavated.

In the construction shown in the drawings the frame of the truck consists of two side beams 6 6, forward and rearward transverse connecting beams 7 7, 7 7, and a central reinforcing beam 8, there being further short beams 9 between the transverse beams to which the trucks 3 are secured.

10 are channel bar uprights serving the purpose of vertical guides or slide ways for the weighted drill as hereinafter more particularly described, such channel bars being inter-connected by arch or yoke shaped bars 1 1, the lower one 11' of which is considerably heavier than the others as it takes a greater portion of the jar. The upper ends of the angle bars 10 are connected by a bar 12 secured to each. The forward transverse beams 7 carry tracks 13 along their inner upper faces.-

14 are flanged wheels arranged in pairs and adapted to operate on the tracks, being supported on axles 15, which are stationary, and carry spindles on which the wheels revolve. The axles 15 are fastened by bolts 16 to blocks or plates 17 adapted to slide in the channel of the bars 10.

18 are set screws passing from the outer side face of the channel bars inwardly and adapted to retain the plate 17 in any desired vertically disposed position. By undoing the screws 18 and raising or lowering the channel bars, then tightening the screws on the plate 17 convenient adjustment is given to the bars, and by placing the axles 15 horizontally opposite, the channels 10 are supported vertically.

19 are vertical bars arranged in sets, one at either end of the forward transverse beams 7, and 20 21 are upper horizontal channel iron beams inter-connecting the upper four ends of the uprights 19, the bars 20 acting as tracks for wheels 21 secured on axles 22 adjustably fastened to the channel irons 10 in the same manner as the axles 15 heretofore described. The upper and the lower sets of wheels support the channel bars 10 from the frame and allow of a free lateral movement.

23 are brace rods or, bars extending obliquely downwardly between the rear upright 19 and the frame 3.

24 is a weight or iron, or such like heavy metal,;having its sides grooved at 25to slide freely vertically on the channel bars 10.

26 is the drill which has its lower end sharpened and its upper end firmly em bedded, screwed, or fitted .andheldv by a pin in the lower face of the weight 24.

27- are side braces fastened tothe-weight and to a collar 28- on the drill.

The-drill has a sharpened end. with the sidetoward the engine, al a, toward the face of the cut, fiat, and ma planewiththe innerside of the body portion and the otherface is flat and tapers downwardly and inwardly.

In actual practicev the length of. the drill from the bottom ofthe braces 27 to the tip is somewhere between five toeight feet, and

its thickness is sufficient towithstand a very severe jar.

29 and30 are frictiondrumssu sported on the same platform as that whic supports the boiler and engine. Thesedrums are of any approved type, one formof which, the Beekman friction drum, 1 :have found to be particularly ada table. The drums are both driven throug gears by the engine-2, and are controlledflby levers 28 30, by

which the operator can at will causethem to coil-or wind upthe-cable.

31 is a cable orrope passing from the drum 30 upwardly to the lower pulley 32 of a double pulley block and downwardly to an eye 33 secured centrally in-the upper faceof the weight.

40. 34 is a crane-having at its upper end a pulley 35 and at its lower endeXtend plates 36 connected by means of abolt 37 and a swiveledeye 38- to a beam 39 bolted centrally to the forward cross beam 7.

40 is a cable passing from the drum 29 to an upper pulley 41 in, the double blocks aforementioned,: outwardly over the pulley 35,- and to the end. of which are secured scissor aws 42 more or less in the formof ice tongs.

Itwill be understood that the double block'carrying-the pulleys 32, 41, is swiveledto the cross arm 12in order to allow for cen-v tering with the drumwhen the drill is moved laterally across the cut.

43 isa cable connected at one end to the forward cross bar 20, and to the upper end of the crane at the other.

44 is a-screw shaft carried at its ends in bearings 45 extending from the uprights 19 and onwhich operate arms 46 bolted-to the rear side ofthe'vertical channel irons 10;

47 is a pulley carried by the screw shaft and inter-connectedw by abelt 48 to a pulley 49, keyed on ashaft 50, bolted to a counter I shaft 51 carriedin journals supported on the platformcarrying the engine and the drums.

52 is ashaft operated by the drum 30, and

53 is the male member of a set of friction clutches feathered on the shaft.

54 is a male clutch free to rotate on the shaft, the said clutch engaging through a loose gear with a gear 55 keyed on the shaft 51. 56 is a second male clutch loose on the shaft 52 and geared through an idler 57 with a gear 58 keyed on the shaft 51.= 59 is a lever controlling the movement ofthe female clutch 53.

The object of these clutches and gears is to allow of a single lever controlled for a forward or reverse rotation of the shaft 44, and although I have shown one method by which this may be provided for, other:

forms quite as adaptable may be used A slight outline of the operation. of'the mechanismas used is this ;.By throwing the I lever 59 to the right the female member of the clutch engages with the male member 54,

which through the adjoining gears rotatesthe shaft-51, and consec uently the screw shaft '44. lVith the clutc in this osition and operating, the gear 56 is running oose or free on the shaft, being turned by the gears 57 and 58. Throwing the lever to the alter native position gives the reverse rotation to the shaft 44, and the operation of the gearsis obvious, being simply the reverse to that:

already described.

Although I have not shown in the drawings any means for moving the frame on the track someslmple connectlonsmay be used for rotating either set of trucks 4, the power being supplied by theengine and controlled by the lever.

An outline of the operation of the machine is as follows,The lever 30 is-thrown-so the cable is wound on the drum and this raises the weight together with the drill; whenit has reached a sufficient height above the ground as determined bythe operatorthe drum is released and the weight with thedrill drops, due to gravity. The drill enters the earth, splitting-it, the solid cakes tending to drop forwardly in the cut. Successive strokes of the drill, as the screw shaft 44- moves it transversely, makes the-complete When the drill lias cut across the sewer. passed completely across, the drill supporting frame is moved backwardly and the re-' verse OPBIEttlOIIlS commecned, 1n-th1sman ner breaking forwardly and backwardly;

Concurrent with the breaking away of theearth it islifted and swung-to the side by.

means of the crane 34 operated by the le ver 29,

In places where the ground is undulating provision, as hereinbefore explained, ismadewhereby the channel'irons 10 may be adjusted vertically. Referring to Fig. 3*the position of the channel irons is that for level ground. If: between the tracks the ground fall away it is obvious, that in order to make a complete stroke, it will be necessary that the channel irons forming the guides will have to be dropped to make up for such slight deviation.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In an excavator the combination with the main frame supported by trucks and having a lateral track thereon, of a forward framework supporting a second lateral track, of a pair of vertical uprights carried by trucks operating on the tracks, a weighted drill slidable between the uprights, and means for operating the drill, as and for the purpose specified.

2. In an excavator the combination with the main frame and a framework erected forwardly thereon, the main frame and the framework both carrying laterally extending tracks, of a set of channel bar uprights interconnected by cross arms, trucks operating on the tracks, above and below, and means whereby the channel bar uprights may be adjusted vertically with respect to the truck axles, as and for the purpose specified.

3. In an excavator the combination with the vertically movable weighted drill slidable in a pair of uprights vertically and horizontally adjustable, of a derrick carried by the frame supporting the uprights and adapted for the removal of material loosened by the drill, as and for the purpose specified.

Signed at Winnipeg, in the Province of Manitoba, this th day of April, 1908.

WILLIAM IIURST.

VJitnesses JAS. M. TAPLEY, GERALD S. ROXBURGH. 

